Endgame

The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:29–30

In the 2015 motion picture Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony Stark creates an AI super bot to protect earth from hostile alien forces (which goes horribly wrong). In his defense he contends that the Avengers need to prepare the earth for imminent invasion from the sky. “That up there,” he says, “that’s the endgame.”

The real world is not unlike this. Every man, woman, and child will meet their Maker when the God-Man Jesus Christ returns on the clouds of heaven to bring God’s justice upon this planet. Being a Christian is putting on the real suit of armor—the righteousness of Christ—ahead of time. Fortunately for you and I, he gives it freely to all who ask.

To be a disciple of Christ is to have that terrible Day squared away. We are forgiven and justified and adopted and ready for the Day of the Lord. So we can face all our other days with courage and honor, waiting for and hastening the appearance of the Lord Jesus from heaven. Let all God’s people say, “Come quickly, Lord!”